OCLC eNews Issue 37

Newsletter for Europe, Middle East & Africa | December 2013

MarcEdit, the popular free library metadata software suite, includes new functionality that will give OCLC member libraries the ability to contribute and enhance their bibliographic and holdings data within WorldCat while using MarcEdit.

The new functionality will provide cataloguers with a new way to interact with their OCLC data, as well as provide another option for libraries looking to streamline their metadata workflows. The new functionality in MarcEdit is made possible by leveraging the WorldCat Metadata API, one of the many APIs being made available from OCLC through the WorldShare Platform.

The integration work between MarcEdit and OCLC’s platform services started out as a discussion between the application’s author, Terry Reese, and OCLC’s Steve Meyer, the WorldShare Technical Product Manager. API-eligible libraries that also use MarcEdit will now be able to upload new records to WorldCat or create new WorldCat-derived records through MarcEdit. In addition, libraries can now update WorldCat holdings, with options to add or delete holdings in batch.

In order to utilise the new features in MarcEdit, libraries will need to request a Web Services Key (WSKey) that supports both the WorldCat Metadata API and the WorldCat Search API. The WSKey enables OCLC to authenticate users and activity so libraries can be confident about updating their data through third party or locally-built applications. WSKeys can be requested through OCLC’s Service Configuration and used across applications. If institutions already have a WSkey for the WorldCat Metadata API and WorldCat Search API, they can put the new functionality in MarcEdit to use immediately.

MarcEdit also uses two additional OCLC Web Services, notably the FAST service to generate subject headings and Classify, to provide classification recommendations based on a control number.

OCLC Libraries that use MarcEdit are encouraged to go to OCLC Service Configuration and request a WSKey for the WorldCat Metadata API. Then, simply plug it into the preferences area in the latest version (5.9) of MarcEdit. More information related specifically to MarcEdit’s integration with the WorldCat Metadata APIs can be found at: MarcEdit and the OCLC Metadata API: Introduction. Instructions on how to request a WSKey and documentation for the WorldCat Metadata API are available at the OCLC Developer Network site.

The OCLC Developer Network recently held an online workshop about additional ways to use the WorldCat Metadata API. Any interested person is able to download and use the WorldCat Metadata API in a test environment. A subscription is required to use the WSKey in production.